The Houston Texans had to hold their nerve as they edged past a resilient Buffalo Bills side with a slender 23-17 victory at the NRG Stadium in Sunday's NFL encounter.
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The game's first quarter saw no scoring action as the Bills sought to make good ground on their first drive, with quarterback EJ Manuel having three passes ruled as incomplete.
Buffalo made some tenacious work count in the second quarter when Sammy Watkins caught hold of a five-yard pass from Manuel, who had been frustrated in the opening gambit, allowing Carpenter's kick to extend the scores to 10-0.
Ryan Fitzpatrick gave the Texans hope in the dying embers of the second quarter when he funnelled a standout pass to DeAndre Hopkins from all of 35 yards, leaving the scores at 10-7 going into half time.
The move was to prove important given that the next piece of scoring saw Houston move into the lead, as some excellent defensive play from JJ Watt saw him inspire an 80-yard interception return, having snatched the ball from Manuel for the first pick-six of his career.
Randy Bullock was next on the score sheet for the Texans when he pushed his side further in front with a field goal from 41 yards out, before returning in the fourth to kick another from 55 yards to make it 20-10.
The Bills did their best to setup a nail-biting finish when Manuel produced the pass of the game to find Mike Williams from a massive 80 yards, but the Texans ultimately proved too good as Bullock kicked another field goal from around 50 yards to complete the 23-17 win.
Christopher Dodd
